CENTRAL NEWS
Violence against women is one of the most important problems in Russia, which was brought to light by the killing of a university student by Oleg Sokolov, a well-known historian, last week.
Research in a country with a population of over 145 million shows that one out of every five women aged between 15-44 has been subjected to physical violence at least once.
Moreover, these figures are based on a survey by the state-run federal statistical agency Rosstat, which does not even consider enacting laws against violence against women.
Overall, it is estimated that at least 16 million women are exposed to violence.
Over 8,000 are killed each year
Despite the campaigns in the social networks against violence against women, no progress can has been made in Russia. According to the Anna Center founded in 1993 (the country’s first association to help women), thousands of women are slaughtered by their partners every year.
According to the Anna Center, every 63 minutes, women are victims of murders by their partners. This means that more than 8,300 women are killed annually.
Killer law
In July, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled that 20,000 euros in compensation would be paid to a woman named Valeria Volodina in Russia. Volodina, who was subjected to violence by her husband, filed a lawsuit on the grounds that the Russian state authorities could not protect her sufficiently.
The ECtHR ruled that the absence of legal policies to protect women were one of the main reasons why the system was inadequate in solving the problem of violence and massacre against women.
